Marc A. Thiessen:
Leaks have consequences. Just ask Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan, who was kidnapped in retaliation for allowing the United States to carry out a special operations raid in Tripoli that captured a senior al-Qaeda leader, Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, known as Abu Anas al-Libi.
How did the kidnappers know that the prime minister had approved the raid? After all, his government denied any prior knowledge of the U.S. action. Simple: The Obama administration told them. A front-page story in the New York Times, “U.S. Officials Say Libya Approved Commando Raids,” reported that “After months of lobbying by American officials, the Libyans consented ‘some time ago’ — weeks or perhaps even months — to the United States operations.” The article, which cites “more than half a dozen American diplomatic, military, law enforcement, intelligence and other administration officials” as sources, notes that “The Libyans’ consent marks a significant step forward for the Obama administration, which has been criticized by Congressional Republicans for moving too slowly to apprehend the Benghazi suspects.”
In other words, the Obama administration exposed the Libyan government’s cooperation in a top-secret covert action in order to bolster the president against domestic political criticism.
It gets worse. The exposure of the Libyan government’s secret cooperation is not the only damaging leak surrounding the Libyan raid. According to the Times, “the United States had hoped to keep secret” the very fact of al-Libi’s capture, “but that leaked out to the news media.” Not only that, the Times revealed that a second raid had been planned, but not carried out, “to seize a militia leader suspected of carrying out the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks on the United States diplomatic mission in Benghazi.”
This is simply devastating.
After spending five years vaporizing terrorist targets (and all the intelligence in their brains) with drones, the administration finally captures a senior al-Qaeda leader alive. Al-Libi is a potential treasure trove of intelligence on al-Qaeda’s operations in Libya and its network in and relationship with Iran. But the exposure of al-Libi’s capture, and the fact that he has been sent for interrogation aboard a Navy ship, dramatically undermines the effectiveness of that interrogation.
It is not unusual for a terrorist to “disappear” from his own network’s radar screen for some time. His fellow terrorists may assume he has gone into hiding or stopped communicating for some innocuous reason. But as soon as al-Qaeda learns that one its senior operatives has been captured by the United States, it rapidly deploys countermeasures to control the damage he can do in an interrogation — purging e-mail accounts, shutting down phone numbers, dispersing terrorist cells, shutting down training camps and safe houses and closing other vital trails of intelligence the United States needs to follow. By contrast, if al-Qaeda does not know a terrorist is in custody, these intelligence trails can remain warm for weeks and even months — while the captured terrorist helps us exploit them and roll up other operatives who may not realize they are in our sights. Whoever revealed al Libi’s capture to the media basically told al-Qaeda to shut down vital intelligence trails that could have led us to other terrorists.
Worse still, the leak that the United States had planned another raid to capture one of the terrorists behind the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks in Benghazi has tipped off that terrorist to our plans. According to the Times, the target, Abu Ahmed Khattala, “has appeared to live his life normally in eastern Libya and has been interviewed by several news outlets.” He clearly believed he was out of America’s reach. Now he knows that is not the case. He has been told not only that the United States can reach him inside Libya, but that we were actively planning to do just that. No doubt he is no longer out in the open “living his life normally,” but has gone into hiding — making his capture all the more unlikely.
To boost his ratings, the narcissistic brat will sacrifice anything and anyone for good press. According to the emperor wannabe, everyone is expendable in his pursuit of fame. However, much to the chagrin of the MSM(Marxist Socialist Media) which fabricated this sock puppet, his legacy is pretty shaky since obamacare isn’t working out too well
Even liberal organization Pro-Publica refused to publish ALL of the illegally IRS-leaked Tea Party tax application information!
What is wrong with the judgement of those who run the NYTimes?
Did they toady for Obama without thinking?
Apparently Obama really does control media outlets in this country.
If you remember, it was the New York Times that told the world that the USA was tracking Osama by the cell phone he was using. They have released other information that helped the enemy, especially while republicans had the white house.
In my opinion, the information of the capture was released on purpose. Look at it from my view. If obama’s goal is to destroy the USA, then he wants to help our enemies as much as he can. Releasing the info warns other nations not to cooperate with us or we will let that country’s enemies know how they helped us. The propaganda media seems to be always glad to release information that hurts the USA.
Since obama didn’t know about the Osama raid until the last minute, I wonder if he knew anything about these two raids, and if he did, did he approved them right away, or did it take a lot of time to talk him into it, like it usually does? obama doesn’t want to go after our enemies, because they are his friends.
For anyone who disagrees with me, I always have to go back to obama’s national civilian security force he wants, and all of the ammo, guns, vehicles, and SWAT teams that are being created in many federal departments. More and more people are seeing a connection between all these, and it ain’t for the betterment of the USA.
@Smorgasbord:
Not exactly.
I thought for sure the whole nonsense about “obama’s national civilian security force” and “ammo” buying was put to rest.
*sigh*…..*forehead slap*
@Wordsmith: #4
The article you linked to only said that it was known that Osama used a satellite phone. It didn’t say that he knew we were tracking it until Bush complained about the info being told by the press.
I’m sure obama feels the same way. What PEACEFUL purpose could it be used for? We have the National Guard, the different federal policing agencies, etc., that will work together with any national emergencies. What is the reason for having MORE AMMO THAN OUR ARMY DOES, being able to shoot everybody in the USA 5-6 times each, or buying all of the guns and armored vehicles, and forming SWAT teams in up to 70 different federal agencies? If an agency needed a SWAT team, they called the FBI, and they supplied the SWAT team. Why do all the other agencies need SWAT teams?
I have an expression I use, and it fits this situation, “If I’m going to be wrong, I want to be wrong in the right way.”
Some of the agencies that have SWAT teams:
Bureau of Land Management
Department of Agriculture
Department of Education
Department of Energy
Federal Reserve
Government Printing Office
Library of Congress
National Institute of Health
National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
National Park Service
Office of Personnel Management
Railroad Retirement Board
Social Security Administration
State Department
Tennessee Valley Authority
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
When would the Department of Energy use a SWAT team, or the Railroad Retirement board, or the Office of Personnel Management? Why would so many of these agencies need millions of rounds of ammo? So far, the obama administration has ordered about 3,000,000,000 rounds of HOLLOW POINT ammo, spreading the purchases through many of the federal agencies who use little or no ammo. Why not just order it all through Homeland Security and have the manufacturer send it to where it is needed. Each agency that has ordered ammo has ordered millions of rounds each, not thousands, or hundreds of thousands.
I’m not the only one concerned about the increase in SWAT teams, and ammo gun and vehicle purchases. I have been reading different articles about the increase in SWAT teams that others are concerned about. Agencies that have very little to do with actual physical enforcement are getting SWAT teams.
I can understand how cities of a certain size would want SWAT teams, and I am all for it. Some police departments use SWAT teams to serve warrants, because officers have been shot doing so. Why are we all of a sudden getting so many SWAT teams and the other stuff in so many federal agencies, and many of them don’t have an enforcement branch? Do you think that the Railroad Retirement Board has an enforcement branch? Are they having so much trouble with their retirees that they had to get a SWAT team?
Why was the below statement erased from the speech he gave? I have read that it is not in the speech any more. Why?
“We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objective that we set. We gotta have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded.”
What is “…the national security objective that we set.”? How are we supposed to attain that objective when we keep reducing out military? If obama is concerned about nation security, wouldn’t he INCREASE our military, instead of DECREASING it? Could it be that he wants to reduce the military so that his national civilian security force can defeat them? Instead of creating a civilian force that is just as strong, and well funded, and armed, as the military, why not just increase our military?
I honestly hope I am wrong, but the more things obama does, the more I am convinced he is not trying to help the country. Make two lists: One titled, “Things obama did that help the country”, and one titles, “Things obama did that hurt the country”. I’m guessing one list will be much longer than the other, and I know which one.
@Smorgasbord:
Read what you wrote and then go through that article very carefully. I linked to it because it is rich in linking to source material in how the myth may have gotten legs.
I’m pretty sure either myself, Mata, Aye, or some sane commenter had addressed this with you in the past; and that you still cling to the conspiracy. So I feel at this point nothing I link to or say is going to change your entrenched beliefs.
As for ammo and SWAT and the government, if the 100 comments following your comment #30 in this thread, and subsequent debunking in others, doesn’t persuade you, I feel like my time is better spent enjoying my day than in spending the next hour digging up links and researching each one of your questions. If you’re looking for answers at Infowars and related websites, though, you’re unlikely to find answers that will comfort and cure you of the paranoia.
@Wordsmith: With Aye and Mata and Larry gone you are truly one of the last voices of reason remaining at F.A. Thanks for your reasoned analysis.
@Wordsmith: #6
I agree that if one person has one opinion, and someone else disagrees, and the discussion goes on for a while, it is better to change the subject than to have the discussion lead to arguing. I live by myself, and have lots of time to go through different conservative blogs. Infowars is not one of them. Sometimes I just do a search on the Internet for something, and if one of the article has useful info, I will link to it.
I am reading more articles than I want about the buildup of ammo and other stuff. There are a lot of stories about Common Core having students do things that when the parents find out about it, they are outraged. The latest one is one class in Illinois that was given the assignment of a situation where only a certain number of people could be saved, and the students had to decide who would live, and who would die. My daughter lives in Illinois, and has kids in school, so I sent her the article, as I have done with other articles. She was shocked to find out what is going on in our schools.
Many schools have taking students to Mosques without telling the parents, and even had the students say the pledge to the Muslim flag. You never hear about a school taking a class to any other religious organization. One teacher had his students print “JESUS” on a sheet of paper, then put the paper on the floor, then had the students step on the paper.
The Border Patrol is still catching known terrorists walking across the border from Mexico. Who knows how many aren’t caught. Several countries are sending terrorist to the USA this way.
Recently, Iran said they were now doing it. Is there even one republican or democrat left that says we need to completely close the border? I haven’t heard any for a long time.
When I read about all of the above going on, and many other things that most people don’t have time to go through the blogs to find out about, or do extra research, I am getting more fearful that we are being destroyed from the inside. Many others feel the same way. I have heard such stories for years, but never believed them. I figured it was just some people’s way of getting elected. The more I learn, the more I worry. I have mentioned before how I am glad I settled in Idaho, because we can have any number of guns we want, and any kind, except fully automatic, and can have any ammo. If the worst case happens, we will be able to defend ourselves.